What is Christmas pudding and what makes it toxic for your pets?

If you're serving Christmas pudding this year, skip on giving some to your pets.

Pudding is traditional British Christmas treat
Pudding is traditional British Christmas treat | Jim Beckerman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There are certain foods people associate with different areas and holidays. When most of us think of British Christmas foods, we think of Christmas pudding.

If you're from another country, you might be wondering what Christmas pudding is. If you're American, you're probably think of a Snack Pack or the pudding cups we all knew and loved as kids which were rightfully amazing.

In Britain, Christmas pudding is something completely different and it seems to resemble fruit cake which is also something your pets aren't able to eat. Basically, it's a mixture of different fruits including raisins, prunes, currants and sultanas.

Christmas pudding is also mixed with alcohol and different spices. As you can see, it's pretty obvious why your pets can't have this but if you didn't know, we're breaking down why Christmas pudding is a no-no if you're looking to give your pets a treat this holiday season.

Christmas pudding is something you can't share with your pets.

Most people probably figured you couldn't share Christmas pudding with your pets, but Digital PR Agency gave us the backstory into why. While most of us know that raisins are toxic for dogs, the other issue is the alcohol featured in the Christmas pudding.

The Digital PR Agency gave some insights into that: "Alcohol in dogs can lead to coordination issues, vomiting, breathing problems and much more. Pets have a lower tolerance to alcohol than humans, so although the initial symptoms might seem manageable, they can quickly progress to more serious issues including seizures. If your pet consumes any alcohol, consult your vet as soon as possible." If your dog does accidentally inject some alcohol, then make sure that your first call is to the vet to be able to deal with the situation as calmly and smoothly as possible.

The other thing of note is to ensure your guests know not to feed any Christmas pudding to your dogs or cats. While it might seem obvious, some guests might not know so it's best to have them avoid feeding your pets anything. Ultimately, it's up to you to ensure that your pets stay as safe as possible this holiday season.

If you're headed somewhere without pets, then feel free to make some Christmas pudding, whether it's traditional or not. In doing some research, we found recipes from Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and even, from the Royal Family. Overall, just make sure to keep it out of reach of your pets and you'll be golden.